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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Sian Traynor

East Lothian forest deemed 'unsafe and unstable' after being flattened by Storm Arwen

A wooded area of East Lothian has been deemed unsafe following the aftermath of Storm Arwen.

The John Muir Country Park was severely damaged in the overnight weather front that caused a host of destruction along the east coast of Scotland.

After hitting the area on Friday night, images taken over the weekend showed a huge portion of the park completely flattened, with hundreds of trees laying fallen.

Local residents had shared their upset after seeing the park ruined by the strong winds, which had got up to around 90mph in some areas of Scotland.

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With work now underway to stabilise the park, local rangers informed residents that the woodland is still "unsafe and unstable".

As well as issuing a safety warning, the rangers also thanked the community for all of their help since the storm.

A post read: "We have been overwhelmed with the kind offers of help and support after the damaging effects of storm Arwen at Hedderwick in John Muir Country Park. Our priority at the moment is to clear the fallen trees along the John Muir Way as this will allow a circular route around the perimeter of the woodland.

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"The woodland itself remains very unstable and unsafe, and therefore urge members of the public not to enter.

"Obviously the scale of the devastation is huge as we estimate around 80-90% of the trees are down and because of this there is no quick fix. Initially we need time to work with the landowner to establish the way forward for the woodland, and we will endeavour to keep you all updated on any plans."

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